BILL NUMBER: SJR 39	CHAPTERED  09/21/00

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER   166
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 21, 2000
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY   SEPTEMBER 1, 2000
	ADOPTED IN SENATE   AUGUST 25, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Knight
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Ashburn, Battin, Leonard, Maldonado,
Reyes, Runner, and Thompson)

                        AUGUST 23, 2000

   Senate Joint Resolution No. 39--Relative to air quality.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SJR 39, Knight.  Air quality:  East Kern County.
   This measure would support the State Air Resources Board's
proposal to exclude east Kern County from the San Joaquin Planning
Area for air quality purposes.




   WHEREAS, East Kern County is an area defined by the Tehachapi
Mountains in the north and includes the communities of Ridgecrest,
California City, Mojave, Rosamond, and Tehachapi; and
   WHEREAS, East Kern County represents 3,700 square miles, which is
larger than some New England states; and
   WHEREAS, East Kern County is home to Edwards Air Force Base and
China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, both key military installations
essential to our national security; and
   WHEREAS, Both installations combined employ over 20,000 employees
with direct expenditures in California of over $1.5 billion dollars;
and
   WHEREAS, These bases are a critical component of the Southwest
Defense Complex, a network of military facilities located throughout
the southwestern United States that collectively provide a secure,
robust, and cost-effective platform for multiservice military
preparedness projects and activities; and
   WHEREAS, Prior to 1990, the Bakersfield metropolitan area was
classified under the federal Clean Air Act as "nonattainment" with
respect to air quality standards while east Kern County was not
classified; and
   WHEREAS, Based on the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments, east Kern
County was automatically included in the Bakersfield metropolitan
statistical area despite unique geographical and meteorological
differences; and
   WHEREAS, In 1994-95, after initial air monitoring, the State Air
Resources Board (CARB) determined that the major cause of air
pollution in east Kern County was a result of "transported" pollution
from the San Joaquin Valley and the south coast area and requested
that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) remove
the east Kern County area from inclusion in the Bakersfield
metropolitan area; and
   WHEREAS, The EPA denied CARB's request and continued to include
east Kern County in the San Joaquin Valley nonattainment area; and
   WHEREAS, Because the Bakersfield metropolitan area, as part of the
San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD), did not
meet the required federal one-hour ozone standard deadline under the
federal Clean Air Act, the EPA has proposed to "bump up" the area
from "serious" to "severe" ozone nonattainment; and
   WHEREAS, Over the last three years, east Kern County has met the
federal one-hour ozone standard while the San Joaquin Valley has
experienced on average 30 ozone violation days; and
   WHEREAS, In February 2000, CARB again requested that the EPA
exclude east Kern County from the Bakersfield metropolitan area and
establish east Kern County as a separate air-planning area; and
   WHEREAS, In June 2000, the EPA proposed to "bump up" the San
Joaquin Valley from "serious" nonattainment to "severe"; and
   WHEREAS, This air quality "bump up" will have severe negative
impacts on current and future missions of Edwards Air Force Base and
China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station; and
   WHEREAS, There are several military bases outside California
located in ozone "attainment" areas that can accommodate existing and
future military programs and jobs lost at Edwards Air Force Base and
China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station due to the inclusion of east
Kern County in the EPA's proposed "bump up"; and
   WHEREAS, National precedent exists where EPA has excluded portions
of ozone "nonattainment" areas and created separate air-planning
areas; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate and Assembly of the State of California,
jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California recognizes
that Edwards Air Force Base and China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station
are key military installations essential to our national security;
and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of California
recognizes that the inclusion of east Kern County in the Bakersfield
metropolitan area under the EPA's proposed "bump up" would have
serious negative impacts on the mission of Edwards Air Force Base and
China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of California supports
the CARB proposal to EPA to exclude east Kern County from the San
Joaquin Planning Area and establish east Kern County as a separate
air-planning area; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States,
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of
the Senate, each Senator and Representative from California in the
Congress of the United States, to the United States Department of
Defense, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the
Chairs of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, the House
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and to the Senate
Committee on Environment and Public Works.
